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commercial broadcaster grade audio?
- Thread starter towerdog
- Start date
The Behringer mic sounded by far the best.
What radios have adjustable bandwidth like that?
Well, this is supposed to be a thread about 11 meter rigs, but unfortunately the only radios I know that have those kinds of capabilities are all made for ham use.
Most ham rigs have adjustable RX filters since you may need different settings depending on the operating conditions. The HF ham bands aren't channelized, so you can sometimes have two different QSOs going on just a few KHz apart. There's an optional 1.8Khz SSB filter you can get for most Kenwood rigs (narrow than the stock 2.7Khz filters), but you don't always need or want) to have it on, so they design the radios to allow you to enable or disable them as needed. Depending on the design, they often use the same filter stages for TX as well as RX.
The Kenwood TS-850 and TS-950 rigs happen to have several filter settings, and there's a way to program the radios to let you set the filters in TX as well as RX. (Normally only the RX settings are user-configurable and the computer forces the TX settings depending on the mode, but there's a way to override the computer on TX too.) I can even transmit through the 1.8Khz filter or the really narrow CW filters, but it sounds terrible.
The TS-950SDX is special because in addition to crystal filters it has a DSP unit which is used for modulation in AM and SSB, and the DSP also has adjustable bandwidth. There are separate settings for the low and high cut frequencies. Normally you can configure the low end for 100, 200, 300 or 400Hz, or 'off' (unlimited) and the high end for 2600, 2750, 2900 or 3100Hz. I demonstrated the 3100Hz bandwidth in the recording. There's another special programming trick to enable an 'off' selection for the high cut too, which increases the bandwidth to about 6.7Khz (which is the max the DSP is designed for). Normally that only works on SSB (which is why the TS-950SDX is popular with the ESSB crowd), but I created a firmware patch that makes it work on AM too.
There is a DSP-100 accessory unit available for the TS-850 that allows it to do many of the same tricks as the TS-950SDX, but the DSP unit in the SDX is a later design that performs a little better. The TS-850/DSP-100 combo can also do 6Khz bandwidth on SSB (both RX and TX), and it can also be tricked into working on AM, but in my opinion it doesn't sound as good on AM as the SDX. The TS-850 will do better on AM with the mod to directly feed the balanced modulator like I mentioned earlier. It has a really nice receiver though, with many of the same features as the TS-950SDX, but for a lot less money. Sadly, the DSP-100 is made of unobtainium.
I heard Radio America 123 on 38LSB out of New Mexico (I think) this past weekend, and he had the TS-850 and DSP-100 with just a Heil microphone connected to it (no special processing) and it sounded really nice. I managed to have a short QSO with him later on 27.435, but he'd switched to an Icom radio by then. It sounded good too, but I could tell right away it wasn't the same rig. The 850 had a nice smooth, clear tone to it while the Icom was a little muddy. Again, the extra highs make all the difference. Of course, I was listening to him the TS-950SDX's receiver with all the filters disengaged.
Again, this brings up the question of whether or not it's worth it to run equipment like that on 11meters if everyone has a narrow band receiver anyway. Well, obviously, there's a few of us out there, so it's not true that _nobody_ will be able to appreciate it. Also, I know there's more than a few guys that run old 'boat anchor' gear on AM on 11 meters, like the Johnson Vikings and Valiants, and I'm sure they have the right kind of receivers to go with them.
A lot of the Yaesu rigs also have programming tricks you can use to extend their TX bandwidth, though they're mainly used on SSB. I think they can only go up to 4Khz though. I've talked to NeedleBender 400 in Mississippi a couple times on 38LSB, and he has an FT-5000. There's also a local in the area who uses an FT-2000 that sounds really nice, but again it sounds to me like it cuts off at around 4Khz. The Elecraft K3 also has options for extended TX bandwidth, but I've only heard them on the ham bands, never on 11 meters.
The king of the hill though seems to he the Flex 5000. You can do pretty much anything with those. I think the TX bandwidth is adjustable up to 20Khz. I don't think you can get them to operate on 11 meters at all though (it's all limited in software, not hardware). I've had QSOs with guys using them on AM on 40 meters though, and they sound amazing.
The only problem of course is all those radios are really expensive. I paid $1600 for my Kenwood TS-950SDX, and I consider that a good deal. You might say "that's a lot to spend just to talk on 11 meters." I can't dispute that, but I'm sure a lot of people have spent at least that much on amplifiers just to talk on 11 meters too.
All that said, there's a local here that has a HiFi modified Cobra 148 GTL and that radio sounds pretty amazing for a CB. I had been looking for a Kenwood SP-950 speaker to go with my rig, and he happened to put that radio on the air the same day I'd received the speaker in the mail and had brought it home to test it. I plugged it in and the first thing I heard was this nice smooth, wide audio on channel 17, and for a second I thought "damn, that's a hell of a speaker!"
BTW, here's a photo of the TS-950SDX with the mic and other gear that I used when I made the recording:
http://people.freebsd.org/~wpaul/station/shacknew.jpg
-Bill
Well, this is supposed to be a thread about 11 meter rigs, but unfortunately the only radios I know that have those kinds of capabilities are all made for ham use.
Most ham rigs have adjustable RX filters since you may need different settings depending on the operating conditions. The HF ham bands aren't channelized, so you can sometimes have two different QSOs going on just a few KHz apart. There's an optional 1.8Khz SSB filter you can get for most Kenwood rigs (narrow than the stock 2.7Khz filters), but you don't always need or want) to have it on, so they design the radios to allow you to enable or disable them as needed. Depending on the design, they often use the same filter stages for TX as well as RX.
The Kenwood TS-850 and TS-950 rigs happen to have several filter settings, and there's a way to program the radios to let you set the filters in TX as well as RX. (Normally only the RX settings are user-configurable and the computer forces the TX settings depending on the mode, but there's a way to override the computer on TX too.) I can even transmit through the 1.8Khz filter or the really narrow CW filters, but it sounds terrible.
The TS-950SDX is special because in addition to crystal filters it has a DSP unit which is used for modulation in AM and SSB, and the DSP also has adjustable bandwidth. There are separate settings for the low and high cut frequencies. Normally you can configure the low end for 100, 200, 300 or 400Hz, or 'off' (unlimited) and the high end for 2600, 2750, 2900 or 3100Hz. I demonstrated the 3100Hz bandwidth in the recording. There's another special programming trick to enable an 'off' selection for the high cut too, which increases the bandwidth to about 6.7Khz (which is the max the DSP is designed for). Normally that only works on SSB (which is why the TS-950SDX is popular with the ESSB crowd), but I created a firmware patch that makes it work on AM too.
There is a DSP-100 accessory unit available for the TS-850 that allows it to do many of the same tricks as the TS-950SDX, but the DSP unit in the SDX is a later design that performs a little better. The TS-850/DSP-100 combo can also do 6Khz bandwidth on SSB (both RX and TX), and it can also be tricked into working on AM, but in my opinion it doesn't sound as good on AM as the SDX. The TS-850 will do better on AM with the mod to directly feed the balanced modulator like I mentioned earlier. It has a really nice receiver though, with many of the same features as the TS-950SDX, but for a lot less money. Sadly, the DSP-100 is made of unobtainium.
I heard Radio America 123 on 38LSB out of New Mexico (I think) this past weekend, and he had the TS-850 and DSP-100 with just a Heil microphone connected to it (no special processing) and it sounded really nice. I managed to have a short QSO with him later on 27.435, but he'd switched to an Icom radio by then. It sounded good too, but I could tell right away it wasn't the same rig. The 850 had a nice smooth, clear tone to it while the Icom was a little muddy. Again, the extra highs make all the difference. Of course, I was listening to him the TS-950SDX's receiver with all the filters disengaged.
Again, this brings up the question of whether or not it's worth it to run equipment like that on 11meters if everyone has a narrow band receiver anyway. Well, obviously, there's a few of us out there, so it's not true that _nobody_ will be able to appreciate it. Also, I know there's more than a few guys that run old 'boat anchor' gear on AM on 11 meters, like the Johnson Vikings and Valiants, and I'm sure they have the right kind of receivers to go with them.
A lot of the Yaesu rigs also have programming tricks you can use to extend their TX bandwidth, though they're mainly used on SSB. I think they can only go up to 4Khz though. I've talked to NeedleBender 400 in Mississippi a couple times on 38LSB, and he has an FT-5000. There's also a local in the area who uses an FT-2000 that sounds really nice, but again it sounds to me like it cuts off at around 4Khz. The Elecraft K3 also has options for extended TX bandwidth, but I've only heard them on the ham bands, never on 11 meters.
The king of the hill though seems to he the Flex 5000. You can do pretty much anything with those. I think the TX bandwidth is adjustable up to 20Khz. I don't think you can get them to operate on 11 meters at all though (it's all limited in software, not hardware). I've had QSOs with guys using them on AM on 40 meters though, and they sound amazing.
The only problem of course is all those radios are really expensive. I paid $1600 for my Kenwood TS-950SDX, and I consider that a good deal. You might say "that's a lot to spend just to talk on 11 meters." I can't dispute that, but I'm sure a lot of people have spent at least that much on amplifiers just to talk on 11 meters too.
All that said, there's a local here that has a HiFi modified Cobra 148 GTL and that radio sounds pretty amazing for a CB. I had been looking for a Kenwood SP-950 speaker to go with my rig, and he happened to put that radio on the air the same day I'd received the speaker in the mail and had brought it home to test it. I plugged it in and the first thing I heard was this nice smooth, wide audio on channel 17, and for a second I thought "damn, that's a hell of a speaker!"
BTW, here's a photo of the TS-950SDX with the mic and other gear that I used when I made the recording:
http://people.freebsd.org/~wpaul/station/shacknew.jpg
-Bill
Thanks for the reply...a great read.
We must have been listening to the same guy on 38lsb....or mebbe it was You? talking about the DSP-100...I had my beam pointing west and I think the guy I was talking to was either in the pnw or AZ...cannot remember...I got to start keeping a log of contacts.....yep...when he was talking about the DSP-100 I googled it and I guess they are kinda rare and expensive.....but it gave him that AM broadcast sound....he turned it on and off....what a difference it made...my CB has not been modded for WB but I have a nice speaker plugged into my ext sp outlet and I can sure hear the wide- banders out there.
I heard Bass-Master uses a Flex radio?
Oh btw I hope you do not mind...I used your pic for my desktop background.
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I posted it further back in this thread (I think it's on the previous page). Here it is again:
http://people.freebsd.org/~wpaul/station/amtests.mp3
-Bill
Thanks for the reply...a great read.
We must have been listening to the same guy on 38lsb....or mebbe it was You? talking about the DSP-100...I had my beam pointing west and I think the guy I was talking to was either in the pnw or AZ...cannot remember...I got to start keeping a log of contacts.....yep...when he was talking about the DSP-100 I googled it and I guess they are kinda rare and expensive.....but it gave him that AM broadcast sound....he turned it on and off....what a difference it made...my CB is not been modded for WB but I have a nice speaker plugged into my ext sp outlet and I can sure hear the wide- banders out there.
I heard Bass-Master uses a Flex radio?
Oh btw I hope you do not mind...I used your pic for my desktop background.
I did a little googling to jog my memory. His name is Brad, "Radio America 123 in the Gulf Of Mexico." Unfortunately I wasn't able to get through to him on 38LSB when I heard him the first time. I live in an apartment building and have just a simple vertical antenna for 11 meters, and I can't run any heavy power (the TS-950SDX is rated for 150 watts though, so that helps). So I get clobbered pretty badly on 38LSB.
And yeah, since the DSP-100 is an option for the TS-850, you can turn it on/off on the fly. When you do it, you need to put the IF filtering back to 2.7Khz on SSB though otherwise you'll be transmitting in double-sideband mode. For some reason not a lot of people bought them so they don't turn up on the used market that often, and when they do they can be pretty expensive. I got lucky and snagged mine for $400 not long after I got my TS-850. When I talked to Brad/RA123, he told he he had to buy his DSP-100 as a package deal together with a TS-450 that he didn't really need. (The DSP-100 also works with the TS-450, but as far as I know it can't do the same ESSB tricks as the TS-850.)
As far as I know, I've never heard of anyone using a Flex 5000 on 11 meters. However I believe there is way to mod one of the earlier models (the Flex 1500 maybe?) for all-band TX, so it is possible someone's got one set up. The 5000 series has better/wider TX audio options though.
And feel free to enjoy the picture. Just... uh... don't enjoy it too much.
-Bill
I did a little googling to jog my memory. His name is Brad, "Radio America 123 in the Gulf Of Mexico." Unfortunately I wasn't able to get through to him on 38LSB when I heard him the first time. I live in an apartment building and have just a simple vertical antenna for 11 meters, and I can't run any heavy power (the TS-950SDX is rated for 150 watts though, so that helps). So I get clobbered pretty badly on 38LSB.
And yeah, since the DSP-100 is an option for the TS-850, you can turn it on/off on the fly. When you do it, you need to put the IF filtering back to 2.7Khz on SSB though otherwise you'll be transmitting in double-sideband mode. For some reason not a lot of people bought them so they don't turn up on the used market that often, and when they do they can be pretty expensive. I got lucky and snagged mine for $400 not long after I got my TS-850. When I talked to Brad/RA123, he told he he had to buy his DSP-100 as a package deal together with a TS-450 that he didn't really need. (The DSP-100 also works with the TS-450, but as far as I know it can't do the same ESSB tricks as the TS-850.)
As far as I know, I've never heard of anyone using a Flex 5000 on 11 meters. However I believe there is way to mod one of the earlier models (the Flex 1500 maybe?) for all-band TX, so it is possible someone's got one set up. The 5000 series has better/wider TX audio options though.
And feel free to enjoy the picture. Just... uh... don't enjoy it too much.
-Bill
Yeah....we are just the opposite....I have a little radio on a big antenna...I run a non modded Texas Ranger TRE-966FFC barefoot on my moonraker and talk all over.....get accused of running power all the time.....its that multiplication factor.
Does the ts 450 have the ability to change band widths?
I am interested in your rack gear....what are you using?
Yeah....we are just the opposite....I have a little radio on a big antenna...I run a non modded Texas Ranger TRE-966FFC barefoot on my moonraker and talk all over.....get accused of running power all the time.....its that multiplication factor.
Does the ts 450 have the ability to change band widths?
I am interested in your rack gear....what are you using?
The TS-450 has the same receiver filter selection controls as the TS-850 and TS-950. However I don't know what capabilities it has for transmit. If you look at a picture of one, to the left of the VFO know, near the top, there should be two buttons marked 8.83 and 455, respectively. These let you cycle through the filters for the 8.83Mhz and 455Khz IF stages. The 8.83Mhz selector has a 'bypass' setting (all lights off, all filters bypassed). The 455Khz selector actually maxes out at 12Khz. However there's a simple mod you can do where you put a jumper wire into one of the optional 455Khz CW filter slots, and then lie to the radio to make it think the filter is installed. When you select that slot, it effectively becomes a bypass position. This lets you disable the filtering at both IFs.
The TS-450 is usually a little cheaper than the TS-850 (~$500 vs. ~$700), but the 850 has a little better receiver.
The rack setup is, in order:
Behringer B1 mic
Behringer MIC2200 mic preamp
Behringer DEQ2496 equalizer/compressor/expander
Behringer FX2000 effects processor
Radial Engineering J-ISO isolation/matching transformer
ACC2 port on the back of the TS-950SDX
The SDX has been modified to improve the TX frequency response by having some coupling capacitors replaced, and by increasing the size of the emitter shunt capacitor in the ACC2 pre-amp circuit.
The FX2000 is actually bypassed right now. I was experimenting with the 'ultrabass' effect for a while, but either I haven't figured out how to use it properly or else it just doesn't do what I want, because I wasn't all that happy with the way it sounded on AM.
In the picture, there's also an MDX1600 compressor/expander/noise-gate box sitting on top of the other 3 units, but it's not connected to anything: I just needed it to hold the other units in place so they wouldn't move around when I pressed the buttons.
-Bill
The TS-450 has the same receiver filter selection controls as the TS-850 and TS-950. However I don't know what capabilities it has for transmit. If you look at a picture of one, to the left of the VFO know, near the top, there should be two buttons marked 8.83 and 455, respectively. These let you cycle through the filters for the 8.83Mhz and 455Khz IF stages. The 8.83Mhz selector has a 'bypass' setting (all lights off, all filters bypassed). The 455Khz selector actually maxes out at 12Khz. However there's a simple mod you can do where you put a jumper wire into one of the optional 455Khz CW filter slots, and then lie to the radio to make it think the filter is installed. When you select that slot, it effectively becomes a bypass position. This lets you disable the filtering at both IFs.
The TS-450 is usually a little cheaper than the TS-850 (~$500 vs. ~$700), but the 850 has a little better receiver.
The rack setup is, in order:
Behringer B1 mic
Behringer MIC2200 mic preamp
Behringer DEQ2496 equalizer/compressor/expander
Behringer FX2000 effects processor
Radial Engineering J-ISO isolation/matching transformer
ACC2 port on the back of the TS-950SDX
The SDX has been modified to improve the TX frequency response by having some coupling capacitors replaced, and by increasing the size of the emitter shunt capacitor in the ACC2 pre-amp circuit.
The FX2000 is actually bypassed right now. I was experimenting with the 'ultrabass' effect for a while, but either I haven't figured out how to use it properly or else it just doesn't do what I want, because I wasn't all that happy with the way it sounded on AM.
In the picture, there's also an MDX1600 compressor/expander/noise-gate box sitting on top of the other 3 units, but it's not connected to anything: I just needed it to hold the other units in place so they wouldn't move around when I pressed the buttons.
-Bill
Thanks for all the info.
I have been looking at the Alesis 3630 compressor and a eq...but first got to get a Cobra 148.
The TS-450 has the same receiver filter selection controls as the TS-850 and TS-950. However I don't know what capabilities it has for transmit. If you look at a picture of one, to the left of the VFO know, near the top, there should be two buttons marked 8.83 and 455, respectively. These let you cycle through the filters for the 8.83Mhz and 455Khz IF stages. The 8.83Mhz selector has a 'bypass' setting (all lights off, all filters bypassed). The 455Khz selector actually maxes out at 12Khz. However there's a simple mod you can do where you put a jumper wire into one of the optional 455Khz CW filter slots, and then lie to the radio to make it think the filter is installed. When you select that slot, it effectively becomes a bypass position. This lets you disable the filtering at both IFs.
The TS-450 is usually a little cheaper than the TS-850 (~$500 vs. ~$700), but the 850 has a little better receiver.
The rack setup is, in order:
Behringer B1 mic
Behringer MIC2200 mic preamp
Behringer DEQ2496 equalizer/compressor/expander
Behringer FX2000 effects processor
Radial Engineering J-ISO isolation/matching transformer
ACC2 port on the back of the TS-950SDX
The SDX has been modified to improve the TX frequency response by having some coupling capacitors replaced, and by increasing the size of the emitter shunt capacitor in the ACC2 pre-amp circuit.
The FX2000 is actually bypassed right now. I was experimenting with the 'ultrabass' effect for a while, but either I haven't figured out how to use it properly or else it just doesn't do what I want, because I wasn't all that happy with the way it sounded on AM.
In the picture, there's also an MDX1600 compressor/expander/noise-gate box sitting on top of the other 3 units, but it's not connected to anything: I just needed it to hold the other units in place so they wouldn't move around when I pressed the buttons.
-Bill
How wide is your kenwood on transmit?
How wide is your kenwood on transmit?
The TS-950SDX's max TX frequency response is about 6.7Khz. With the DSP unit all the way open. The TS-850/DSP-100 can do about 6Khz.
-Bill
Hey Towerdog... Greetings from the Mojave Desert... We run a modified Saturn SSB Echo base, modified for NPC/RC (negative peak compression / reduced carrier), a custom made D104 microphone with an Electrovoice "Elvis" mic head and a simple asymetrical harmonic rich modified audio amplifier board with bass and treble tone control in the base. The radio has had a few caps upgraded to larger values, and we added a $50 dollar SP-1 speech processor inside it as well... The Elvis mic head is a swap meet special (cheap!)... I built the custom base by combining an Atlas desktop mic stand with parts from an old Astatic Tug 8 stand, resulting in a custom grip to talk Atlas/Astatic mic with an Electrovoice head... It sounds rich and full, and it looks so cool!.. We get complements on our audio and modulation on a daily basis out there in Skipland... The NPC/RC mod results in fuller modulation at a reduced carrier level, giving you increased dynamic range to your audio. Effectively, you are replacing the amc limiter circuit with a superior one
that Will Not allow the modulation to square off flat on negative peaks, but the positive peaks swing high as they can... We are running it into a custom Super Loudmouth amp with the baby driver adjusted to give it a 600 watt deadkey, and it swings to over 2200 Bird watts on peak... Before with a PPE mod (positive peak enhanced / "carrier swinger"), I'd set the deadkey at 600 and it would only swing to 1200!.. (so much for the ppe garbage!)... You can get a truly decent sounding radio "on the cheap", without spending for a "broadcast quality" expensive audio chain...I proved it!.. I personally don't care for the muffled fuzzy sounding, over bassy "New Technology" audio, it sounds like my speaker's got a rip in it!... : ) Anyways, to make a long story short, here's a recap of key "must haves" for great audio... A good Professioal Vocal Mic, an Assymetrical Audio mic amp circuit with tone control or eq, a speech processor kit, a few larger caps in the radio, a NPC/RC mod to give you an Assymetrical Modulation r.f. envelope, and set your carrier to drive at a 4:1 ratio... Baada Bing Baada BOOM!.. You got a nice clean radio setup, with that "professional broadcast station" sound... I highly recommend you research NU9N's AM Transmitter Hi Fi Audio Modulation Processing...I also suggest you check out Billy Dean Ward's tutorial link on his homepage... just googlesearch: NPC/RC ...the rfintensivestudygroup... I hope you enjoy these comments, they should be of great help to your posted topic... 73's... CBSUPERTECH
that Will Not allow the modulation to square off flat on negative peaks, but the positive peaks swing high as they can... We are running it into a custom Super Loudmouth amp with the baby driver adjusted to give it a 600 watt deadkey, and it swings to over 2200 Bird watts on peak... Before with a PPE mod (positive peak enhanced / "carrier swinger"), I'd set the deadkey at 600 and it would only swing to 1200!.. (so much for the ppe garbage!)... You can get a truly decent sounding radio "on the cheap", without spending for a "broadcast quality" expensive audio chain...I proved it!.. I personally don't care for the muffled fuzzy sounding, over bassy "New Technology" audio, it sounds like my speaker's got a rip in it!... : ) Anyways, to make a long story short, here's a recap of key "must haves" for great audio... A good Professioal Vocal Mic, an Assymetrical Audio mic amp circuit with tone control or eq, a speech processor kit, a few larger caps in the radio, a NPC/RC mod to give you an Assymetrical Modulation r.f. envelope, and set your carrier to drive at a 4:1 ratio... Baada Bing Baada BOOM!.. You got a nice clean radio setup, with that "professional broadcast station" sound... I highly recommend you research NU9N's AM Transmitter Hi Fi Audio Modulation Processing...I also suggest you check out Billy Dean Ward's tutorial link on his homepage... just googlesearch: NPC/RC ...the rfintensivestudygroup... I hope you enjoy these comments, they should be of great help to your posted topic... 73's... CBSUPERTECH
With the TS-950SDX, you can't turn off the DSP unit for AM and SSB transmit. That's one of the major differences between the TS-950S/TS-950SD and the TS-950SDX. With the 950S/SD, you had the DSP-10 unit, which was technically optional, just as the DSP-100 was optional for the TS-850 and TS-450. The difference between the two rigs was that the SD model came with the DSP-10 installed from the factory. The S model ddd not. If you wanted, you could turn the TS-950S into an SD by buying the DSP-10 separately and installing it yourself. (Conversely, you could also turn a TS-950SD back into a 950S by just unplugging the DSP unit, but there was not much reason to do that.) Without the DSP-10, the radios would fall back to using the typical analog modulation system that Kenwood had used in its other rigs: they used an AN612 balanced modulator chip (which they would unbalance to generate AM).
The TS-950SDX looks a lot like the TS-950S/SD, but it's really a different radio in many ways. The DSP unit is a second generation design and it's not optional: you can't transmit on AM or SSB without it. (You can use FM without it though.)
The DSP unit has low and high cut settings so you can vary the TX bandwidth using menu options. The supported settings are:
low cut
off
100Hz
200Hz
300Hz
400Hz
high cut
2600Hz
2750Hz
2900Hz
3100Hz
off*
(* to enable the 'off' setting for the high cut, you have to press and hold the 'FINE' button on the front of the rig while turning it on, otherwise it doesn't show up.)
The 'off' setting for the low cut gives you response down to 20Hz. The 'off' setting for the high cut gives you response up to 6.7Khz. The bandwidth is also affected by the crystal filters at the 8.83Mhz IF stage. There's a service menu trick to enable the user to manually set the filters during transmit. With my rig, the options are:
bypass (no filter, bandwidth limited by DSP only)
6Khz (typical AM setting)
2.7Khz (typical SSB setting)
1.8Khz (optional narrow SSB filter)
270Hz (optional narrow CW filter)
For AM, anything other than the bypass or 6Khz settings sounds awful.
For the TS-850, the DSP-100 unit offers basically the same bandwidth settings, except that to set the low and high cut to 'off' you have to flip some dip switches on the back of the unit. Otherwise, there are two knobs on the front panel that provide the same low and high cut settings as described above. When the high cut is on the 'off' position, the top end response is about 6Khz (a little less than that of the TS-950SDX). There is also the same kind of service menu trick for allowing the user to select the crystal filters during transmit.
Note that for the TS-850, the DSP bandwidth settings affect both RX and TX. You can't really set them separately. With the TS-950SDX, there is a separate DSP RX bandwidth setting that varies from 6000Hz down to 1400Hz or so. This only applies to SSB mode though: in AM mode, the radio uses the 455Khz IF filters for RX bandwidth limiting instead of the DSP.
The best way to get HiFi AM out of the TS-850 is to not bother with the DSP unit and just feed the balanced modulator directly, like I described previously. In that case, you would set both the 8.83Mhz and 455Khz IF filters to bypass for transmit. I'm not really sure what the maximum frequency response would be in that configuration, but I suspect it might be around 10Khz.
(That was a really long answer for such a short question, hunh.)
-Bill
With the TS-950SDX, you can't turn off the DSP unit for AM and SSB transmit. That's one of the major differences between the TS-950S/TS-950SD and the TS-950SDX. With the 950S/SD, you had the DSP-10 unit, which was technically optional, just as the DSP-100 was optional for the TS-850 and TS-450. The difference between the two rigs was that the SD model came with the DSP-10 installed from the factory. The S model ddd not. If you wanted, you could turn the TS-950S into an SD by buying the DSP-10 separately and installing it yourself. (Conversely, you could also turn a TS-950SD back into a 950S by just unplugging the DSP unit, but there was not much reason to do that.) Without the DSP-10, the radios would fall back to using the typical analog modulation system that Kenwood had used in its other rigs: they used an AN612 balanced modulator chip (which they would unbalance to generate AM).
The TS-950SDX looks a lot like the TS-950S/SD, but it's really a different radio in many ways. The DSP unit is a second generation design and it's not optional: you can't transmit on AM or SSB without it. (You can use FM without it though.)
The DSP unit has low and high cut settings so you can vary the TX bandwidth using menu options. The supported settings are:
low cut
off
100Hz
200Hz
300Hz
400Hz
high cut
2600Hz
2750Hz
2900Hz
3100Hz
off*
(* to enable the 'off' setting for the high cut, you have to press and hold the 'FINE' button on the front of the rig while turning it on, otherwise it doesn't show up.)
The 'off' setting for the low cut gives you response down to 20Hz. The 'off' setting for the high cut gives you response up to 6.7Khz. The bandwidth is also affected by the crystal filters at the 8.83Mhz IF stage. There's a service menu trick to enable the user to manually set the filters during transmit. With my rig, the options are:
bypass (no filter, bandwidth limited by DSP only)
6Khz (typical AM setting)
2.7Khz (typical SSB setting)
1.8Khz (optional narrow SSB filter)
270Hz (optional narrow CW filter)
For AM, anything other than the bypass or 6Khz settings sounds awful.
For the TS-850, the DSP-100 unit offers basically the same bandwidth settings, except that to set the low and high cut to 'off' you have to flip some dip switches on the back of the unit. Otherwise, there are two knobs on the front panel that provide the same low and high cut settings as described above. When the high cut is on the 'off' position, the top end response is about 6Khz (a little less than that of the TS-950SDX). There is also the same kind of service menu trick for allowing the user to select the crystal filters during transmit.
Note that for the TS-850, the DSP bandwidth settings affect both RX and TX. You can't really set them separately. With the TS-950SDX, there is a separate DSP RX bandwidth setting that varies from 6000Hz down to 1400Hz or so. This only applies to SSB mode though: in AM mode, the radio uses the 455Khz IF filters for RX bandwidth limiting instead of the DSP.
The best way to get HiFi AM out of the TS-850 is to not bother with the DSP unit and just feed the balanced modulator directly, like I described previously. In that case, you would set both the 8.83Mhz and 455Khz IF filters to bypass for transmit. I'm not really sure what the maximum frequency response would be in that configuration, but I suspect it might be around 10Khz.
(That was a really long answer for such a short question, hunh.)
-Bill
Yep......so much info I had to read it 3 times to find the answer.....your making learn...crap